Parents Need to Know is a newsletter written by Craig Collison, MD, pediatrician with Mount Nittany Physician Group.

Are your children’s biological clock telling them not to go to bed at their bedtime?

Sleep is one of the most frequent topics I get asked about during well-child visits in the Pediatrics office. Some children sleep well and some don’t. Either way, most parents have experienced a child that is struggling to sleep – whether he or she is asking for another story to be read, or continuously getting out of bed to go to the bathroom.

The reason? A new study by the University of Colorado Boulder found that the bedtime parents select for their child may be out-of-sync with their child’s internal biological clock. Everyone has a natural internal clock that regulates when our bodies are tired or alert.

The patterns of our biological clock vary with age. For most adults, the levels of melatonin – the hormone that controls sleep – typically spike about two hours before their bodies are ready for bed. In this new study, researchers found that, on average, young children’s melatonin spiked at 7:40 pm and it took about 40-60 minutes for the children to fall asleep. The time a child’s melatonin spikes varies from child to child. But if a child’s melatonin spikes at 7:40 pm and his or her bedtime is 8:00 pm, then the child will most likely be restless for quite some time.

I have always had kids come to our practice that seem to be very sensitive to baby wipes, even the ones that say “ultra-gentle for sensitive skin.”

A new study published in Pediatrics found that baby wipes may be causing some kids to develop itchy, scaly, red rashes. This allergic reaction is most likely from a chemical preservative called methylisothiazolinone (MI) that’s found in baby wipes. Kids with skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis may also get rashes from baby wipes.

If your child is having chronic rashes in the places you use baby wipes, such as the mouth or buttocks, and the rashes don’t respond to treatment, try using a warm washcloth with mild soap instead of wipes. If the rashes don’t go away after you stop using baby wipes, talk to your doctor to determine the cause.

Pregnant women, infants and children not recommended to consume raw milk

Central Pennsylvania is a rural area with many dairy farms that provide people with access to raw milk, which is why I found it important to share the newest recommendation on raw milk from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

The AAP advises pregnant women, infants and children to consume only pasteurized milk, cheese and other milk products, and supports the ban on the sale of raw milk in the United States. Raw milk and milk products from cows, goats and sheep can transmit deadly bacterial infections, including listeria, campylobacter, salmonella, brucella and E. coli. Many supporters of raw milk claim there are health benefits from the natural factors in milk that disappear during the pasteurization process; however, numerous data show that pasteurized milk provides the same nutritional benefits as raw milk, without the risk of life-threatening infections.

The risks associated with consuming raw milk are particularly high for pregnant women and their fetuses, as well as for young children. Some of these infections can ultimately cause miscarriage and stillbirths in pregnant women, as well as meningitis and blood-borne infections in both young infants and pregnant women.

I support the position that pregnant women, infants and children should not consume raw milk and should only have pasteurized milk and milk products.

It’s not too late to get a flu shot!

The flu is here in Pennsylvania, but it is not too late to get a flu shot or the flu mist to try to help protect your children!

Every year is unique when it comes to influenza. Both the strains that are circulating and the timing of their arrival in a geographic area vary tremendously from year-to-year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducts studies to determine the amount of influenza in all areas of the country and publishes this on a weekly basis. If you are interested in seeing the map documenting the spread of influenza, you can check online at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm.

The timing for getting your flu shot begins when the vaccine becomes available for a particular year, which is typically in late August or September. Once available, you can receive your flu shot well into the flu season, which, for Central Pennsylvania, is most frequently in the February-March timeframe. In looking at the most current map from the CDC, Pennsylvania is listed as “widespread,” meaning that the flu is actively spreading in the state a little earlier than normal.

Here are recent product recalls announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. For the most up-to-date recall information, please visit cpsc.gov and click on the Recalls tab from the home page.

Name of product: Tottenham Hotspur Infant Home Kits by Under Armour

Hazard: The shoulder snaps on the jersey can detach, posing laceration and choking hazards.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported

Description: The infant home kit consists of a white jersey, navy blue shorts and socks in sizes 0, 6 months, 12 months and 18 months. The jersey has style #1238534 printed on a side seam label. The jerseys are white with navy blue trim and navy blue UA and Tottenham Hotspur logos. The navy blue shorts have white trim and white UA and Tottenham Hotspur logos. The socks are navy blue.

Sold at: Pegasus Sporting Goods and Upper 90 Soccer + Sport between August and December 2013 for about $50

Manufactured in: Philippines

Remedy: Consumers should immediately take the recalled home kits away from children and return the kits to the retailer where purchased, or contact Under Armour for a full refund.

Consumer contact:Call Under Armour toll-free at 888.823.0343 from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm ET, Monday through Friday, or go online at underarmour.com and click on Recall for more information.